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March 23, 2008
Caddyshack DVD
Caddyshack is a classic comedy that has influenced dozens of comedies since its release in 1980. Starring Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Bill Murray, and Michael O'Keefe alongside the beautiful Cindy Morgan and Sarah Holcomb, the movie provides moments of uproarious laughter and head scratching stupidity.
The movie is set at the exclusive Bushwood Country Club. Michael O'Keefe plays caddy Danny Noonan, who has been told by his father that he must go to college, but has little hope of actually being able to pay for it. However, when the previous winner of the Caddy Scholarship dies in a freak accident, the scholarship becomes available, and Danny decides to try and win it.
The scholarship is awarded by the uptight Judge Elihu Smails (Knight) who is angered by the non-conforming behavior of a condo developer Al Czervik (Dangerfield), and the layabout Ty Webb (Chase).
Although Webb is something of a mentor to young Danny Noonan, Noonan begins spending more time caddying for Judge Smails in an attempt to get in his good graces. When he finally secures the scholarship, by winning the Caddy golf tournament, Danny nearly looses it all by sleeping with the Judge's beautiful niece Lacey Underall (Cindy Morgan). However, the Judge is mortified that her good name might be sullied, so he strikes a deal with Danny to never speak of it, and the scholarship stays his.
As a sidestory, throughout the entire film, the assistant groundskeeper Carl Spackler (Bill Murray) is attempting to kill a gopher that has invaded the grounds. Spackler is crazy and comes up with increasingly violent ways of trying to kill the gopher.
The film culminates in an $80,000 bet on a round of golf (betting is illegal at the club, but becomes rampant throughout the film). As the last putt appears to be centimeters shy of the hole (delivering a loss for Dangerfield, Chase, and O'Keefe), the entire grounds erupt from plastic explosives designed to kill the gopher, the ball nudges into the hole, and the uptight Judge is out $40,000.
All told, the movie is more bizarre than funny. There are several scenes that will leave you scratching your head or rolling your eyes. The movie misses out on many opportunities to leverage the multiple comedic talents, by isolating Dangerfield, Chase, and Murray from each other. Still, the final scene is amusing, if not predictable.
The movie is rated R and there is some nudity. Torben Reviews rating: 3 of 5 stars.